A Look back on 2018

I know, I know. We’re already in February and it’s ridiculous to look back on last year when we’re already almost two months in! I recently found this blog post though, where I had looked back on what happened in 2012 (the year I started this blog). It’s something that definitely needs to come back. I love a reflective post and 2018 was a crazy year, so I may as well remember it!

2018 was a year of travel for Ben and I. We had set that as our goal for the year. To tick off new places and see new things and make our first trip with Pepi, so we did exactly that! It was also the year that I fell back in Love with London but Ben and I also made the big decision to start looking for more permanent roots in our own home.

January – This is always a quiet month for me. I like to take a little time out after the Christmas and New Year break, to re-coop all of my thoughts and write goals to aim towards. We tried Veganuary for the first time and took some of my favourite ever photos in London.

February – The first trip abroad to The Cayman Islands. This is a trip I will remember forever. The Caymanian Tourist Board looked after us amazingly well. Grand Cayman was explored in our hire car before, we moved on to Little Cayman.

March – One of my favourite months of the year. Back to The Philippines! One of my favourite places on earth. Ben had been invited by Don Papa to explore the making of their rum and I flew out at the tail end of their trip to join him.

June – The month kicked off with a very sick Pepi after we gave her a meal that was too rich for her to digest. We were extremely worried as she was so frail, but with a quick response from our vet, an overnight drip and a course of medication, she was starting to feel a bit better.

We delayed our roadtrip to France a few days, to ensure Pepi was doing better (although we did have a few emergency toilet stops through Paris for her) and kicked off the trip in the rainy Loire Valley at Chatueau de Perreaux. The chateau was a recommendation from our friend Ramona after she had booked it for her and Nik’s anniversary trip and it was a great way to start.

We stayed in a few different places in Provence to really explore, and attended our friends wedding which was absolutely beautiful. They were married at a family member’s property, in the middle of the countryside, overlooking vineyards and mountains. Stunning.

July – A relatively quiet month as a lot of people were on holiday, but we were lucky enough to have another trip planned.

Marrakech; a special birthday trip with my bestie and her (now) fiancé. It was such a gorgeous trip, although stiflingly hot, we all got on so well and had the best time.

The rest of the month, we had our heads down getting on with lots of work and we popped back to Devon for a bit of house hunting. We did manage to fit in the Mary Poppins afternoon tea at The Shard however and a trip to a £20million penthouse in Victoria!

August – A busy month again filled with splitting our time between Devon and London.

This was also the month that we sadly lost my beautiful Keya. Right at the end of the month. The whole family had been in Devon and it was an extremely traumatic incident. I still think about her every day.

September – September started with a girls trip to Mallorca which came just after Keya’s death. I was actually going to cancel the trip. Ben convinced me to go though, and try to take my mind off everything. It was exactly what I needed and I had the most incredible time with my girls.

I was invited to try the ‘Be Our Guest‘ Afternoon Tea at The Townhouse, Kensington.

I also tried to squeeze in a few more meetings. Before Ben and I were off again, on our first ever trip to Dubai with the Movenpick Jumeirah Beach. It was unbearably hot! I’m glad we went but, to be honest, it’s not somewhere I would rush back to in a hurry.

After Dubai, we ticked another gorgeous location off our bucket lists and hopped over to The Maldives.

Arriving back from the Maldives, there was just enough time to unpack and repack our bags. Before we were off again on a trip to Ibiza with San Miguel. It was such a fabulous four days with the loveliest group of people staying at the San Miguel Villa.

During September I also started K&H Social with my bestie and business partner, which is now growing ever stronger and has some really exciting prospects for 2019!

October – After such a busy September, we went straight down to Devon to be reunited with our baby Pepi and were plunged straight into a gorgeously warm autumn. October consisted of loads of meetings and enjoying the change of season.

On our return, London had been transformed into a winter wonderland. Every shop front, hotel and area in London had made the biggest effort to get into the festive spirit. We made sure to make the most of the gorgeous displays!

December – The middle of the month kicked off our final trip of the year. A relaxing break to Babington House in Somerset with Koko Kanu.

On Christmas day, we woke up in our own flat for the first time. Then headed to Ben’s parents for Christmas day, and onto my parents in time for a second Christmas on Boxing Day!

2019 holds some amazing prospects already. We have a big move on the cards. Trips planned to incredible destinations and lots of things happening with K&H Social. 2018 saw most of my content fall to Instagram. This year will also see me putting a lot more effort back into my blog and YouTube, channel with some really exciting content!